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Pre-War Baseball Card Guide

The R-cards, or gum cards, are one of the larger Pre-War
categories. Bubble gum cards extended their run longer into the
20th century, lasting until the 1950's. Bowman and Topps emerged as
the two strongest gum card producers, with Topps eventually beating
Bowman out in 1955. Bubble gum cards were not produced until the
1930's, when the ingredients for making bubble gum became more
readily available. Goudey and Play Ball were some of the most
successful Pre-War bubble gum card producers.